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WASHINGTON — Utah Sen. Mike Lee on Thursday introduced a bill to extend compensation to downwinders exposed to nuclear fallout, but advocates say the bill is a "huge betrayal" that undermines a broader proposal that has already passed the Senate.
The bill extends by two years the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which was initially enacted in 1990 to give support to those who lived near nuclear weapons test sites and worked in the uranium industry. Lee's proposal is co-sponsored by Utah Republicans Sen. Mitt Romney and Rep. Celeste Maloy.
"When the government harms people, victims should be able to receive compensation," Lee said. "Downwinders and others harmed by the nation's early atomic program often suffer the consequences of exposure decades after the fact. Passing my RECA extension would send a message saying the United States government is not abandoning these victims and communities."
Lee and Romney both supported a similar proposed extension in 2022, and Romney said he's "proud" to co-sponsor the latest bill, which he said "will allow residents of Utah who were affected by our nation's early nuclear program to be properly compensated."
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act — which currently covers downwinders in 10 counties in southern and central Utah — will sunset in June, which is why downwinders and advocates have been pushing Congress to reauthorize the program. Many have also called for an expansion of the bill to cover fallout victims from northern Utah and other locales who are believed to have developed cancer and other illnesses after being exposed to radiation.
A bill to do just that has already passed the Senate this year with bipartisan support, though Lee and Romney both voted against the measure. Romney told KSL.com the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act — sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri — "drastically" expands the scope of eligibility for benefits under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, and a spokesman for Lee said the bill "stretches the program to include wide geographic areas it was not intended to cover, without sufficient data," noting the $50 billion price tag.
Hawley's bill would expand benefits to victims who lived in northern Utah, as well as Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Guam. It would also cover affected uranium miners from several states and expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act for another six years.
Mary Dickson, who grew up in Salt Lake City during the period when atomic tests were conducted in Nevada, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in her late 20s. Her sister died of lupus — an autoimmune disease that has been linked to radiation exposure — when she was 46 years old.
She is not currently eligible for the act's benefits and has long been an advocate for herself and others to be included. Dickson applauded Hawley's proposal and has been urging the House of Representatives to take action on the bill to keep the benefits from lapsing.
Dickson told KSL.com Thursday she believes Lee's bill is an attempt to undermine the Hawley bill, calling the two-year extension "not acceptable" and "a huge betrayal to the entire state of Utah."
"What we're pushing for, and what we need urgently and desperately, is the bill that Sen. Hawley introduced," she said. "This is just kicking the can down the road and (Lee) is doing nothing to help his constituents in northern Utah."
Dickson believes Romney and Maloy are also "turning their backs on their constituents" with the proposal.
"It is past time to expand and extend RECA for all the suffering citizens of our beautiful country," said Tona Henderson, director of Idaho Downwinders. "Anything less is a slap in the face."
Efforts are still underway in the House to adopt the Hawley bill as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, tries to navigate votes on a series of foreign packages with the threat of ouster hanging over his position.
The House has fewer than 21 legislative days on the calendar before the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act expires.
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists — a group that supports the Hawley bill — nearly 400,000 people lived in Salt Lake County during the time of nuclear testing.
"Between 1951 and 1970, counties in northern Utah were exposed to radioactive fallout at levels comparable to their southern neighbors," a spokeswoman for the group told KSL.com.
Dickson said concerns about the cost of expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act are overblown, noting that Nuclear Watch estimates the U.S. has spent nearly $10 trillion on nuclear weapons since 1942 compared to the $2.67 billion spent on the act to date.
"I just think Lee is ignoring his own constituents by not pressing for a bill that adds all of Utah," she said. "I just don't understand it."
Correction: In an earlier version, Tona Henderson's name was incorrectly spelled Rona.
